KYLIAN MBAPPE hit back at the “farmers league” dig as the Paris Saint-Germain ace praised Lyon for beating Manchester City.
The term is often used to criticise the quality of France’s Ligue 1.
But after Lyon’s shock 3-1 win over City in the Champions League quarter-finals, Mbappe wasn’t having any of it.
He tweeted “FARMERS LEAGUE” alongside a clown emoji and tagged Lyon’s official account next to three clapping hands.
PSG only made it into the semi-finals thanks to a very late show against Atalanta with two goals in injury time sealing their first EVER Champions League semi.
The connotations of the phrase stem from the widely-held view that the French league is the weakest of the top five European competitions.
Behind the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A.
The tongue-in-cheek jibe literally suggests the players are part-timers who farm for a living and play football on the side.
The use of the term has been fuelled by PSG’s dominance of the competition.
The French champs have won seven out of the last eight league titles and were awarded this year’s early after fixtures were curtailed by Covid-19.
But many see France as a feeder league with ‘bigger’ looking to poach players from its ranks.
And until now, the comparatively poor showing of the nation’s clubs in Europe had fed into the narrative.
But this year there are TWO French clubs in the last four.
The other two sides are both German, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich, and it is the first time in SEVEN years that there are only sides from two countries left in the comp at this stage.
Fans were quick to pounce on Mbappe’s humorous post.
One egged him on and said: “GO OFF KING!”
Another backed their view: “Your club is playing the 1st semi final in history. Ofc u guys are farmers.”
A supporter even reminded the PSG star about his side’s defeat to Manchester United last year.
They said: “As if these clowns didn’t get bounced by the worst Man Utd team in 3 decades just last year.”
